I have completed five MS Challenge Walks and have walked all 250 miles. I have walked each year for different reasons and with different perspective.

In 2003, I walked in honor of my great-grandmother, who had MS. She began having symptoms when she was in her early 20s. I remember her in the 1980s, first walking with a walker and braces on both her legs. Then she wasn't able to walk at all, and she was usually in her recliner or her wheelchair. Her MS eventually left her with one functioning arm. She passed away in the late 1980s, in her late 60s, of complications due to MS. She was strong, she endured pain and loss, and she retained her sense of humor. Even though she sat in her chair, I was terrified of her threat of "I'll get the fly swatter!" Every walk, I walk for her.

In 2004, I chose not to walk because I was battling symptoms of my own and fighting to find out what plagued my once strong, athletic, never-tiring body. I knew what I had.

Then 2005 rolled around, and one of my aunts (a non-blood relative) was diagnosed with MS. This prompted my Aunt Patty to join me for the 2005 MS Challenge Walk. To be honest, that year, I walked out of anger. I was angry because I still did not have a definite diagnosis. I was angry that my family and friends did not understand what I was going through. I was angry because, despite having my aunt with me, I felt alone. I looked around at the MS Challenge Walk and was envious of the support that others had from friends and family, not only along the walk route, but in their battle with MS. At the finish line, I stared at the shirts on the table; blue for non-MS and red for MS. What color was I to wear for possible MS?

After my definite diagnosis of MS in early 2006, I walked out of relief. My doctors and my family finally had answers, and I had confirmation. I walked because I could. I walked with hope that no one  else would have to experience the physical and emotional pains that I had.

I walked in 2007 to raise awareness. I wanted people to hear my story, to learn about MS, and to support all of us living with and fighting MS every day. I walked because I longed for the support, the spirit, and the camaraderie of others with different stories bonded by the fight to cure MS.

I signed up for 2008 mostly out of stubbornness ("typical MS personality"?), and with the intent of simply enjoying myself and the company of hundreds of other walkers and volunteers touched by MS. For three days, I felt like I belonged and like I was not alone in my journey. I rather enjoyed myself!

At the finish line in 2008, I eagerly signed up for the 2009 MS Challenge Walk. This past year, however, has been a tough MS year for me. I am 31, I work full time, I live alone and am self supporting. I have suffered many changes in my symptoms and in my body, and I do not have the sam stamina and ability to walk as I have in past years. My friends and family keep asking me, "Why then are you even going to attempt to walk 50 miles"? Because it's about more than just the miles and the walking. Because I can still walk, and I want to keep walking. Because it's about the hearts, and soles, of all of us hoping for lives without MS.

Heather lives in Hampton, NH and completed her first 50 miles in 2003 in honor of her great-grandmother who had MS. Ironically, she began having symptoms in 2004, and was finally diagnosed with MS in 2006. This will be her 6th walk, and her first as team captain of "All Smiles for 50 Miles". Heather recruited 7 friends to walk, and her mom to volunteer on the Crew. Heather is a pediatric physical therapist in NH.

In 2003, I saw a flyer for the MS Challenge Walk in a sandwich shop in Wakefield, Mass.  I flipped through it while I eagerly waited for my dinner. I thought, "50 miles — I can do that." My only connection to MS was that I wanted to walk in honor of my great-grandmother, who had lived with MS for more than 40 years. I signed up.

A few months later, I drove down to Hyannis the night before the walk, completely naive to what "challenge" meant. I had no expectations other than taking in the moment and people and walking the 50 miles.

Over those first 50 miles, I talked to anyone and everyone I could. I asked people why they were walking, what their relationship was to MS, why they volunteer, and how they fight their MS battle. As a physical therapist, I thought that what I learned from others, I would be able to use and share with my patients.

I quickly learned that participating in the MS Challenge Walk was not about the walking part at all. It wasn't about how many miles you did or didn't walk. It wasn't about how long it took you, if you survived without blisters or not, or how much money you fundraised compared to your bunkmates.  The walk had a feeling.

I had never partaken in an event that was so emotionally charged and moving. I was astounded by the energy, the smiles, the hugs, the cheers, the courage and strength people exuded, the encouragement from volunteers to carry on, and the spirit found in the hundreds of people I spent the weekend with — all for the common cause of fighting MS and hoping for a cure.

That is the reason I keep on walking.

This will be my sixth year walking in the MS Challenge Walk. Things have changed, though. In 2004, I began having symptoms myself, and I was diagnosed with MS in 2006. It is ironic that I chose to participate on a whim in 2003, and now I struggle with the physical symptoms and the decline that my body has endured due to MS. In the, past I have pushed and forced myself stubbornly to walk the whole 50 miles, but the thing that has carried me through it all has been the spirit of other walkers and volunteers.

It is extremely difficult to put something so emotional, something so powerful into words. When I flip back through pictures and watch video that I took, and when I share it with friends and family, I tear up. They are tears of happiness, fullness and peacefulness, for it brings forward the intense emotions and spirit that the MS Challenge Walk creates.

It's not about the miles; it's about the people. It's about you.

Heather lives in Hampton, NH and completed her first 50 miles in 2003 in honor of her great-grandmother who had MS. Ironically, she began having symptoms in 2004, and was finally diagnosed with MS in 2006. This will be her 6th walk, and her first as team captain of "All Smiles for 50 Miles". Heather recruited 7 friends to walk, and her mom to volunteer on the Crew. Heather is a pediatric physical therapist in NH.